Lesson L0.5: Numbers, Time and Dates in Conversation
Numbers, time, and dates show up everywhere — booking an appointment, sharing your phone number, planning a meeting, or just saying what time you’ll be somewhere. Many learners know the numbers themselves but hesitate when saying them quickly in conversation, especially times and dates. This lesson builds that speed and confidence.
What you’ll learn
- How to say phone numbers, prices, and quantities clearly
- How to tell the time naturally, not just digit by digit
- How to say and ask about dates
- How to make and confirm a simple appointment or plan
- How to listen for a time or date and note it down correctly
- Common mistakes learners make with time and date expressions
Two real-life scenarios
Scenario 1 — Booking a slot: You’re calling to book a doctor’s appointment and the receptionist asks, “Does 3:30 on Thursday work for you?” You need to confirm or suggest another time, clearly.
Scenario 2 — Sharing contact details: A new colleague asks for your phone number so they can add you to a work group. Saying it clearly the first time avoids repeating it three times.
Getting numbers, times, and dates wrong — even slightly — can lead to missed meetings or confused plans, so this is one of the most practical lessons in the whole Foundation level.
The building blocks
Times, dates, and numbers each have their own natural way of being spoken in English that isn’t always the same as how they’re written. Learning the spoken pattern, not just the written one, is the key skill here.
Key vocabulary
| Word / Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter past / to | 15 minutes after / before the hour | It’s quarter past four. |
| Half past | 30 minutes after the hour | It’s half past six. |
| Sharp | exactly at a stated time | Please be there at 9 sharp. |
| Around / roughly | an approximate time | I’ll reach around 6 p.m. |
| The [date]th of [month] | a spoken way to say a date | The 14th of March. |
| Reschedule | to change a planned time | Can we reschedule to Friday? |
| Double [digit] | used when saying repeated digits in numbers | My number has double two — nine, double two, one, one. |
| Confirm | to agree something is correct or fixed | Just confirming — 3:30 on Thursday works. |
Sentence patterns you can reuse
Dialogue 1: Booking an appointment
Dialogue 2: Sharing a phone number
Listening practice
Audio script (read this aloud to yourself, or have a friend read it to you):
“The meeting’s been moved — it’s now on the 21st of July, at quarter past eleven, instead of Thursday. Please try to join sharp, since we only have thirty minutes.”
Comprehension questions:
- What is the new date of the meeting?
- What time does the meeting start?
- How long is the meeting?
Practice it yourself
Speaking practice: Say the current time out loud in two different ways (e.g., “four fifteen” and “quarter past four”). Then say today’s date the way you’d say it in conversation.
Writing practice: Write a short message proposing a meeting time and date to a colleague, and a second message confirming a changed time.
Practical activity: Say your own phone number out loud, in pairs or small groups, the way you would share it with someone in person.
Common mistakes to avoid
| Instead of this | Say this |
|---|---|
| “It is four colon fifteen.” | “It’s four fifteen.” / “It’s quarter past four.” |
| “The three of June.” | “The third of June.” |
| “My number is nine eight seven six five four three two one zero” (all in one breath) | Break it into small groups: “nine-eight-seven, six-five-four, three-two-one-zero” |
| “Can we postpone to tomorrow?” (when you mean move earlier) | “Can we reschedule to tomorrow?” (postpone means later, not just “change”) |
| “I will come sharp around 5.” | Choose one: “I’ll come at 5 sharp” or “I’ll come around 5” — not both together. |
| “Meeting is at morning 9.” | “The meeting is at 9 in the morning.” / “The meeting is at 9 a.m.” |
Today’s challenge
Practice saying today’s date and the current time out loud, three times, until it feels smooth. Then try proposing a meeting time to someone using “Does [time] on [day] work for you?”
Self-assessment
Check off what you can now do confidently:
- I can say the time naturally, in more than one way.
- I can say a date correctly using ordinal numbers.
- I can share a phone number clearly, in small groups.
- I can propose and confirm a meeting time politely.
- I understood the listening script without reading it twice.
Quick quiz
1. Which is a natural way to say 4:15?
2. Which date is said correctly?
3. Which word means “to change a planned time”?
4. Which is the best way to share a phone number?
5. Which sentence correctly proposes a meeting time?
Lesson summary
You can now say times, dates, and numbers naturally in conversation, and confidently propose, confirm, or reschedule a plan. These small details matter more than they seem — they’re what keep real-world plans clear and mistake-free.